Apparatus for registering can body blanks



Aug.. 30, H949.

`ELAJUD APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING CAN BODY BLANKS Filed April 29 1947 3Shets-Sheet l Aug 30, H949. E. I Axo 2,480,192

APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING CAN BODY BLANKS Filed April 29, 1947 Aug. 30,l949 E. Ax0 2,480,192

APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING CAN BODY BLANKS Filed April 29, 1947 ssheets-sheet s 1: Ffa.; l6

Patented Aug. 30, 1949 UNI-TED"l STATES PTENT OFFICE APPARATUS' FORREGISTERIG UABODY BLANKS` Ed Laxo, Oakland; Calif., assignor tovA'tlasIm'- perial Diesel Engine Co., Oakland,-Calif'., a corporation ofDelaware Application April 29, 1947, Serial No. 744,682

4 Claims. 1.

The present invention Vpertains `to can body making machines, andmcreparticularly to apparatus for registering :can bodyv blanks with' toolsat one or'more work"stationsy in such machines.

An object of the inventib'nis to provide a mechanism for automaticallyandaccm'ately disposing. canbody blanks 'in 'exact registry with thcbody making tools at oneor `more work stations, without nicking, bendingor otherwise marring the relatively thin metalI bodyblank stock.

A further object Aof the'invention is to provide an improvedmec'liianisn'iJ for positively and. ac# curately registering, can bodyblanks with' respect to tools at one ormore work stations along the canbody making machines Another object or. ytheinvention is to provide amechanism forautomatically and accurately disposing can body blanks inpositive and eX- act registry with tools at oney or more: worksta`tions. theVmcch-anismbeing capableV oi high, sns-- tai-ned operatingspeeds-' Still. a further object ofthe invention-isv to provide aregistering mechanism for accurately disposing can body blanksrelative-to tools of a body maker, the mechanism being easily removableiroinits operating location to permit inspection;

adjustment and other" operations onA the re inainder of the body making`machine, aswel-l' asonthe registering mechanism itself.

One iormwhich the inventionAm-ay assume isf- Fig. 4: is a cross-sectiontakenr along the line- Fig.v 5` isa longitudinal section taken. alongthe line` E-E-on Fig. 3.

6 is a partially exploded perspective View.; as seen generally alongtheline 6,-51 on Figs-3;`

Theoregistering mechanism eXempli-fying the' present invention: inthedrawings islocatedl on.`

opposite. sides off a. aanbodyf making 'machina-in whichy bodyblanlrsfB-.are fedisuccessivelyfrom' stautiontostationiorthefpertormance of: certain oper'-V ations thereon. Asanexample, the body .blanke wherecertain operations are performedthereon; thento a notching station, wherel the four corners of theblank, are notchedV and slit; and then to a folder.r station, where thehooks are formed, preparatory tofeedling. of the blank to theforming-station.. where the blank is formed into a cylindrical body-A'suitable mechanismmay be provided for performing' the above-notedoperations. It is important, however, that the blanks be locatedaccurately'and exactly with respect to the tools atv each work station,in order to produce proper cylindricall cans. It isto'su'ch registeringmechanism that the present'inv'entionis directed.

As disclosed in the drawings, the body maker consists'essentially of.opposed portions for operating' oai-each: side of the body blank. Sincethese portions areA essentially duplicates of one another, particularreference to one side of the machineA throughontf most of thisdescription will suliiiceffor both-sides. 1

The bod-y maker` includes opposed side frames lil adjustably mounteduponthe base il of the machine, to allow movement of the side frames to andrfromo'ne another, for the purpose of accommodating body blanks ofdierent widths designed-to form can bodies of Various diameters.

As indicated' above. a blanking or impression stationa mayy beprovidedin the device, and alsol a matching stationvC and folding station D. Themechanism'for performing the notching. oi the corners ofeach. bod-yblank is' specifically disclosed in the'drawings, while the registeringmechanism is shownas disposed along thc folding stationv D, as well as`along the notching station C. Itis toA be understood; however, that theelements of the registeringlnechanism could be duplicated to include amechanism for accurately locating thebody blanks at a blanking orimpression station (inot shown). it desired. For purposes of clarity,the registering mechanism hasI been shortened inextent to show theregistering of the-body blanks at two stations C and D only.

The bodyblanksA B are. movable from station to station byfeed bars l2slidably mounted on the bed' portion'iS of: eachV side'frame lil. Each'of such-bars isguidedrinf itsmovement by a side member I'll sccurred'to`thefframe by cap screws I 5g or the like; and having' a'- vlongitudinaltongue i6 'received Within a companion groove Il in the feed bari The.side'membe'r is also provded'with' an; inwardly'extending shoulder' i8'on whichv a plate.` I 9" ist secnredi by7 meansV of? countersunk` screws2n; Thisfplateextends across the machine, resting upon the shoulder I8of the other side member I4 with its upper surface lying in the sameplane as the upper surface of the feed bar i2. It is to be noted thatthere is a longitudinal groove or space 2| provided between the feed bari2, plate I8 and side member i4 for the reception of part of theregistering mechanism, as later described.

Fitting within a longitudinal channel 22 in each side frame at thenotching and slitting station C is a die block 23 having appropriate diecavities 24 for receiving punches 25 suitably secured to punch holders25 clamped to the rocker lever 21 of the punch actuating mechanism. Thislever is mounted upon a shaft 28 extending between and secured to theupper bearing portions 29 of side frame uprights 38. The lever isoscillated by mounting the upper end of a connecting rod 3|' on a studor pin 32 secured to the lever, with the lower strap end 33 of the rodencompassing an eccentric 34 fixed to a drive shaft 35 rotatable by asuitable electric motor and gearing (not shown) at the proper speed. Itis to be understood that the notching mechanism on the right side of themachine (as seen in Fig. 1) is a substantial duplicate of the notchingmechanism just described, and that it is also operated through a driveshaft, eccentric and connecting rod train of mechanisms in synchronismwith the rocker lever oscillating mechanism 3l, 35 specilicallydescribed. Specic details of the notching and slitting apparatus may befound in my application executed on April 22, 1947, for Apparatus fornotching can body blanks, Serial No. 744,681, led April 29, 1947.

The feed bars l2 are reciprocated along the body maker in timed relationto the operation of the impression, punch and folder mechanisms. Aspring pressed feeding finger 36, of known construction, is mounted atlongitudinally spaced intervals on each feed bar I2 (see Fig. 2), beingdesigned to engage the rear edge R of a body blank B and feed it fromstation to station at the proper time. Because of the character of theregistering mechanism to be described herein, the feed bars l2 move eachbody blank a distance slightly greater than the actual movement requiredto shift each blank from the desired registered location on one stationto the desired registered location on the other station. It is to beunderstood that various other known manners of feeding the blanks fromstation to station may be employed, since the precise feeding mechanismforms no part of the present invention.

The registering mechanism is disclosed as extending across two workstations, such as the notching and slitting station C and the folderstation D. This mechanism includes, on each side of the machine, a pairof spaced arms 31 pivotally mounted upon studs 38 secured to lugs 39extending upwardly from the side frame I0 of the machine. As is bestseen in Fig. 1, a lower surface 48 on the outer end of each arm 31engages a plunger 4| received within a bore 42 in a frame uprightcontaining a spring 43 engaging the end of the plunger for urging it inan upward direction for the purpose of maintaining the arm 31 generallyhorizontally in proper position over the notching and folder stations C,D and in position for registering blanks thereat. This position isdetermined by engagement of a depending lug 44 on each arm with a ledge45 on the upright 38. The arms, however, may be swung upwardly toelevate the entire registering mechanism about the axis of the studs 38against the action of the 4 plungers 4l', which will merely be depressedin their bores or sockets 42 against the force of the springs 43.

A longitudinal bar 46 extends between the inner portions of the arms 31,and is secured thereto by suitable cap screws 41 extending through theends of the bar for threaded reception within the arms. Each end of thebar 46 is formed to provide a tongue 48 received within a companion igroove 49 in each arm for the purpose of preventing relative verticalmovement therebetween.

The lower end of the bar is also provided with a longitudinallyextending shoulder 5l] forming a longitudinal groove or channel 5I forthe reception of other parts of the mechanism, to be referred tohereinafter. At this point it is also to be noted that the longitudinalbar 46 has an intermediate inwardly disposed longitudinal groove orchannel 52 having upper and lower anges 53 directed toward each other,in effect providing a modified dove-tailed or T-shaped cross-section.

The longitudinal bar carries one or more stop fingers 54 adapted toengage the rear edges R of body blanks B as they are shifted backwardlyto a slight extent during the registering operation. These stop fingersextend between the depending legs 55 of a holder 58, which is secured tothe lower portion of the bar 46 by engagement of its intermediate tongue51 within a companion groove on the outer, lower portion of the bar (seeFigs. 1 and 6). A bracket 58 has an upper tongue 59 received within thelongitudinal bar groove 5I and serves to clamp the holder 56 to the barby means of a screw 68 extending through the bracket and threaded intothe holder.

The stop nger 54 is mounted upon a screw or pin 6l extending between theholder legs 55 and supported thereby. This ringer has its forwardportion urged in a downward direction by a spring 62 engaging its upperside forwardly of its pivotal axis on the screw or stud 6l, which springis received within a socket 63 in the holder 55 (see Fig. 3). The stopfinger 54 is so arranged as to be forced by the spring 62 down againstthe surface of the machine over which the body blanks B travel. Asillustrated in Fig. l, one opposed pair of stop fingers 54 normallyengages the die blocks 23 inwardly of the punches 25, with the forwardstop or working face 64 of each finger substantially at right angles tothe surface of the machine or die block when its forward corner engagesthe same. The under surface 65 of each nger is inclined forwardly anddownwardly to provide a heel against which the body blanks B may bearfor the purpose of elevating the stop fingers above the machine surfacefrom the path of movement of the body blanks and allow the latter to befed by the feed bars l2 and feed fingers 36 therebeyond. Immediatelyupon the body blanks B passing the stop fingers 54, their springs 62will re-engage them with the machine surfaces.

The stop fingers 54 may be located accurately at the rear of each workstation simply by loosening the cap screws 59 and sliding the bracket 58and holder 56 along the bar 46, whereupon the screw 68 may again betightened to clamp the parts in position. Accurate movement to anexceedingly small or ne extent may be obtained by means of an adjustingscrew 66 threaded into the holder 56 and having its head bearing againstone face of a stationary head 61 having a U-shaped slot 68 through whichthe screw shank extends, there being a lock nut 69 on the other side ofthe head 61 (see Fig. 6). A pin 1l) extends from the head and isreceived within a f'miianion hole.y 1| in .thebar. 46 above itsslongbtudinal groove in order to prevent longitudinal movementofthehead. Thescrew |56` is threaded into the holder 55;. and upon being turned itwillxaiter the 4distance between :its head i the holder, whereupon the:lock nut 69 may be tightened against the head 67| to shift the screwandholder, andalso to clamp the screw 6.6 l to .the head f' preventingsubsequent inadvertent movement of `the--l'iolder alongthe bar.

The stopnngersts. are located atvthe rear of each work station .anddetermine the position of the` body blank B when itis moved backwardthereagainst. The longitudinal movement. of the body blank may beresisted ibya pressure bar 7 2 located on each side. of the machine ateach work station .and consisting of a. longitudinalmember whose ends73. are recessed in order thatl the member may be received .between .theholder legs 55:.(seeFigs, 3 and 6:). A spring AItengages each endowtheypressure bar and is located within a socket 'I5 in the holder 55 inorder to urge the bar 72: downwardly against the body blankA Banovingthlereunder. Downward movement ofthe pressure baris limited vbyengagement of the upper ends otite recessed portions 13 with theholder'legs 55.

Pressure. barslat Yonly onestation are indicatedgin'the drawings forpurposes of clarity, whereas, it is to be understood that a pressurebarmay lbe located-.at other stations, if desired. As disclosed in Fig.v3, the. bar 16 at the left station is merely secured; to thelongitudinal bar liti with its lower endelevatedabove the machinesurface in order to serve as a guide for the body blanks as they passthereunder.

Alftera body Ablank B has been moved forwardly to a position slightlybeyond. its desired position in registrywitl'i the toolsat a particularstation, it is. thenl pushed backr against the stop lingers 54'by a.pushfback device locatedat each station on` opposite sides of themachine. As illustrated inv the drawings (see Figs. l,v Zand 3), suchvpushT back device consists of a lever 'I1A pivotally mounted upon a stud'I8 extending into abracket 719,011 onev side of the longitudinal barand i threaded into a clamp 85 -on `the other side of the longitudinalbar 45, the bracket and clamp being essentiallyvthe same as the bracket-58 and holder.55.for each stop` finger 54. Tghtening of D the screw I8serves .to clamp the bracket 19 and.

the4 clamp 8|) on. the other side of the bar rmly tov the supporting bar4Q `of the mechanism, but does not clamp the lever 'l1 thereto, which is`free toswing about the stud axis.

Each push-.back lever 'H has a forwardly and downwardly extending arm 8|terminating in a linger 82 adapted to engage the forward edge .F of thebody blank lil/.swinging into the longitudinal groove 2l. The lever alsohas an arm 83 extending upwardly from its pivot 18 and engaged within aslot 84 in a slidable lever operate ing device 85, which is secured to alongitudinal slidev 8E. complementary to and slidable within the groove52 in the longitudinal bar 4B. Each device 85 includes a spring holderportion 8'! adapted to receive a compression spring 83 in its bore, oneend of which engages a stud 8'9 serving to secure the device to theslide 86 and acting as a stop-or abutment for the spring 88. The otherend of the spring engages a plunger 9i! having a rounded forward noseportion contacting the rear face of the'upper lever arm 83. The plungeris guided for slidable movement without rotationv in the holder 8T by anupwardly extending 6 key 9| thereon receivedr within a-slot :92; in theholder.

The forwardface 4of the: upper. leverA arm.- 8.3 engages a cam 93mounted on anotherfstud: 94 securingthe operating device. to the slideB6. This cam 93is rotatable ,to determine the. position of Vthe lever.'I7 fwith respect to .the machine frame. and body blank, andr may bemoved to properly adjust the lever on itspivotland then clamped `in.such adjusted: position vby tightening the screwl 94%, which preventsits Vfurther rotation.

It is to be notedfthatfthereis a push-back lever lli on each sideof themachine. at eachstation meuntedfiorwardiy'ofzthe stop finger ffor thatsta-tion.V Reciprocation of the; slide iili-.willcorrespondingly rockthe levers l?. simultaneously on. theirfpivot pinsfrlL andmove. the.depending fingers 82 through aniarcuate path in a downwardiandrearwardzdirection when the slide is moved forwardiy, and in the reversedirection whenwtlie slidey is movedzrearwardiy. Such rear.- ward 1movement is-.produced by a return .spring 95 engaging. the forwardwend96 ofitherslide85 Withinthe longitudinal bar groove Stand received.within a. retainer 91 4which is clampedfto theflongitudinal bar it byaclamp piece 98 which engages the bar and retainer, being forced againstthey latter by ar screw: Il?. extending through the clamp98.;and:longitudinal'bar 46 into the vforward main supporting. arm 31 ofthe mechanism.. As afmatter of ffact, thislast men tioned'screw lliserves. the double purpose of. clamping the retainer to the barandsecuring the end of the bar to the arm. The eXtentlof movement .ofthe slide eunder the4 inuence of the return spring V95th-limited'bx/.engagement of its rearwardendtszwith ai stop lllfmountedwithin thelslot `:mgroove 52 v:in the bar and held iny any position oflongitudinal adjustment therein byaset screw 10| threaded through thestop and adapted toengage the base of thegroove 52. Tighteningof thisscrew Esi willforce the stop againstthe oppositely directed iianges 53of the bar, thus holding. the stop |00 in the position in which .it .mayhave' been placed.

The. slide 8S is.- shiftable forwardly, for the purpose ofswinging thengerss. to positions pushingbackthebody blanks B against the stopfingers 54, bya cam device which includesa bracket |02-extending throughan outer longitudinal slot |53 through thev base of the longitudinalbardxinto its groove52. This bracket is substantially shorter in lengththan the'length of the longitudinal slot |83 yand is attached to theslide by.v cap screws |84 extending through thebracket andthreaded intothe Slide B6. This bracket has `an upward and outwardly directedinclined support ||l5 to which is aixed a bolt Iliion .which a camfollower roller |01 is rotatably-mounted. This roller is engaged by acam Q8 which is suitably secured -to the rocker lever 2? ofthe punchoperating mechanism. As specilically disclosed, the` cam |08 has a pairof oppositely directed ears |09 receiving the threaded endsA of capscrews l() extending through a holder I|| clamped to the rocking lever21.

As the lever '21 moves downwardly to perform the notching operation onthe corners of a body blank B, the cam'. surface ||l8a on the camengages the follower roller |01 and shifts it longitudinallyv to movethe slide 86 longitudinally against the action of the return spring 95,thus moving .the upper arms. 83 of the push-.back lever. forwardlyandthe lower arms 8| and ngers 82 Vrearwardly to cause their engagementwith the forward edge F of the body blank B and push the latter backwardto a position limited by engagement of the rear blank edges R with thestop fingers 54.

It is to be noted that the fingers 82 of the pushback levers occupy aposition disposed substantially above the surface of the machine andabove the plane in which the upper surface of the body blank lies whenthe cam H18 is not rocked inwardly to shift the slide 86 forwardly. Thatis, the return spring 95 shifts the slide rearwardly to cause thefingers 82 to occupy the positions disclosed in dotted lines on Fig. 3,with their lower ends elevated above the surface of the machine so asnot to interfere with the movement of the body blanks.

The body blanks B are fed by the spring pressed fingers 36 pivotallymounted on the feed bars l2 to a position in which the rear edges R ofthe body blanks are slightly in advance of the stop fingers 54, the stopfingers moving upwardly against their springs 62 to permit such feedingaction to occur. Thereafter, the inner ends of the rocking levers 2lmove downwardly so that the cams |08 shift the slides 86 forwardly, inorder to rock the push-back levers 'l1 in a counter-clockwise direction(as seen in Fig. 3), causing the fingers 82 to engage the forward edgesF of the blanks and shift them back until their rear edges R engage thestop fingers 54, in which position the blanks are accurately registeredwith respect to the tools at the different work stations.

In the event that there is any tendency for the fingers 82 to continuemoving on their pivots 18 to a slight extent after the rear edges R ofthe blanks have engaged the stop fingers 54, such movement will beresisted by the blanks and will not occur, since the plungers 90 willmerely yield backwardly against the springs 88, allowing the slide 86 tomove in a forward direction without correspondingly moving the fingers82.

The various mechanisms of the body making machine are so timed withrespect to each other as to feed the body blanks forwardly while thetools are in their ineffective positions. For example, the punches 25will be in their upward position, with the push-back levers 1T in theirupward positions, whereupon the commencement of a working stroke on thetools first causes the fingers 82 on the push-back levers to move theblanks B back against the stop fingers 54 into accurate registry withthe tools, holding the blanks in such position until the work has beenperformed at the particular stations, as, for example, the notching andslitting of the corners by the punches 25, and the folding of the sidemargins at the folder station D.

It is thus apparent that a registering mechanism has been provided whichassures the positive and accurate location of the body blanks at leachstation, since the blanks are accurately positioned between the ngers 82on the pushback levers and the stop fingers 54. Moreover, the bodyblanks are not bent or dented since they are fed forwardly to a maximumextent without their forward edges F engaging any element. It is aftersuch forward motion has been arrested and the feed bars I2 have startedon their return movement that the push-back levers 'l1 move the blanks Bbackward against the stop fingers 54 in a comparatively gentle fashion.The force exerted by the push-back fingers against the blanks, beinglimited by the springs 88 bearing against the plungers 90, in effectoperate as over- 8 load release devices, assuring against damage to thebody blanks.

The mechanism is capable of operation at a high sustained speed inexcess of 350 canbody blanks per minute, producing accurate registeringof each can body blank at each station along the body making machine.When it is desired to move the registering mechanism, in order toperform inspection or adjustment operations on other parts of themachine, it may be swung bodily out of the way on each side of themachine, simply by swinging the longitudinal bar 46 and its arms 3l onthe studs 38 against the force of the spring pressed plungers 4l, whichthen hold the mechanism in the inoperative position to which it has beenmoved.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to beunderstood that various changes may be made in its construction by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

l. A machine of the character described comprising a feed table, aplurality of tools disposed therealong, each defining a work station,means for feeding can body blanks or the like in succession along saidtable to a position beyond each station, a stop member disposedrearwardly of each station adapted to abut the trailing edge of a canbody blank and thereby register the same with a work station, andrearwardly shifting means comprising a single reciprocable member, meansoperable in timed relation to operation of said tools to reciprocatesaid member, and a separate adjustable lever mounted on said frame foreach work station actuated by reciprocation of said reciprocable memberand pivotable into engagement with the leading edge of a can body blankto shift the same rearwardly against the corresponding stop member, saidlevers being relatively adjustable with respect to each other and tosaid reciprocable member.

2. A machine of the character described comprising a feed table, aplurality of tools disposed therealong, each defining a work station,means for feeding can body blanks or the like in succession along saidtable to a position beyond each station, a stop member disposedrearwardly of each station adapted to abut the trailing edge of a canbody blank and thereby register the same with a work station, andrearwardly shifting means comprising a single reciprocable member, meansoperable in timed relation to operation of said tools to reciprocatesaid member, and a separate adjustable lever mounted on said frame foreach work station yieldably connected to and actuated by reciprocationof said reciprocable member, each such lever being pivotable intoengagement with the leading edge of a can body blank to shift the samerearwardly against the corresponding stop member, said levers beingrelatively adjustable with respect to each other and to saidreciprocable member.

3. A machine of the character described comprising a feed table, aplurality of tools disposed therealong, each defining a work station,means for feeding can body blanks or the like in succession along saidtable to a position beyond each station, a stop member disposedrearwardly of each station adapted to abut the trailing edge of a canbody blank and thereby register the same with a work station, andrearwardly shifting means comprising a single reciprocable member,positive means operable in timed relation to operation of said tools toimpart the forward stroke to said member, resilient means for eiectingthe return stroke thereof, and a separate adjustable lever mounted onsaid frame for each work station actuated by reciprocation of saidreciprocable member and pivotable into engagement with the leading edgeof a can body blank to shift the same rearwardly against thecorresponding stop member, said levers being relatively adjustable withrespect to each other and to said reciprocable member.

4. A machine of the character described comprising a feed table, aplurality of tools disposed therealong, each defining a work station,means for feeding can body blanks or the like in succession along saidtable to a position beyond each station, a stop member disposedrearwardly of each station adapted to abut the trailing edge of a canbody blank and thereby register the same with a work station, andrearwardly shifting means comprising a single reciprocable mem- ED LAXO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,110,810 McDonald 1 Sept. 15,1914 1,917,359 Cameron July 11, 1933 2,015,987 Bayer Oct. 1, 19352,387,766 Moore Oct. 30, 1945

